The Tournament
The AAU International Tournament is held on the third weekend in January each year, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, at the Disney resorts in Orlando, Florida.
The AAU International tournament began in 2000, with just 8 teams, and has grown steadily, to 40 teams the past several years, and is now one of the largest and most popular men’s fastpitch tournaments in the world.
AAU International Fastpitch 2012
Play Ball in January
January 26-29, 2012
To all the teams interested in participating in this event in 2012.
If you do have the “ Intent to Participate “ form, you may start
Faxing me that form starting Monday to the following number:
407- 672-0512 … or give me a call at 407- 466-7434 if you need me
to send it to you. There are many new teams from Venezuela and other
countries calling me wanting to come and I do not want to leave
any of the regular teams out…Thanks.
Alex Linares
Amateur Athletic Union Of The United States, Inc.
Sports Manager
Panama & Puerto Rico Liaison
International Events
407- 828-5602
407- 934 – 7242 (fax)
alex (at) aausports.org
www.aausports.org
Editor’s note:
You gotta hand it to Alex. Does anyone plan further ahead? You should too, if you want to get into this tournament. Last year they had 40 teams, and more on a waiting list. Don’t Wait !
2000 8 teams
2001 16 teams
2002 17 teams
2003 18 teams
2004 24 teams
2005 28 teams
2006 28 teams
2007 32 teams
2008 32 teams
2009 40 teams
2010 40 teams
2011 40 teams
The AAU International event is the first big tournament of the calendar year for the fastpitch community, drawing teams the USA, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, including a large contingent from Venezuela, and as far away as Spain. Additionally, the teams competing in the AAU International Tournament have enlisted the services of players from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
While many back home in Canada and the Midwest and Northern United States are shoveling snow from their driveways in the dead of winter, fastpitch teams at the AAU tournament in Orlando were enjoying beautiful sunny skies, with an opportunity to play quality, competitive fastpitch against teams that they would not normally get to see.
The tournament is headed up by the AAU’s Alex Linares, and administered by the executive director for the ISC, Ken Hackmeister.
Fastpitchwest has been in Orlando covering the AAU International Tournament since 2004, including live audio broadcasts on BallparkRadio.com.
For the past several years, the tourrment and has also been covered by Al Doran, of Al’s Fastball, the most widely read website four men’s fastpitch in the world.
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Disneyworld, Orlando FL
The ESPN Wide World of Sports complex is located in Orlando, Florida, amidst other Disney resorts such as Epcot Center, Animal Kingdom, and others Disney resorts. The complex is minutes from the host and other conveniently located hotels. Florida is well known for its affordable travel and lodging facilities. The facility house four main fields, laid out in “wagon wheel” fashion, with a professional caliber two story press box in the center, which also houses the concession stand, plus two more fields just outside the main four-field hub. The fields are beautifully maintained and even provide a telephone in each dugout for managers to call in their substitutions to the press box. The softball complex shares the same grounds as “Crackerjack Field”, which is used by major league baseball’s Atlanta Braves for Spring Training.
Tournament Organization
The AAU International Tournament is organized jointly by Alex Linares, of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), and Ken Hackmeister, the executive director of the International Softball Congress, which annually hosts the premier fastpitch tournament in men’s fastpitch, the ISC World Tournament. The AAU tournament staff also includes top flite umpires, and of course, the professional Disney staff to help run the event.
Jim Flanagan’s Ballparkradio crew has been broadcasting from the tournament to a world wide audience on the internet, while Maddy Flanagan, one of the game’s top photographers, has been capturing all of the action, shared at Maddy’s Photos. (See direct links to AAU photos below)
AAU Tournament Director Alex Linares credits the organizational skills of Ken Hackmeister for a good deal of the tournament’s success. Those who attend the tournament also point to Linares’ background as a player and coach, as a key ingredient for success, noting that Alex knows what teams want and expect in a top level tournament. Linares goes out of his way to be a gracious host and keep in touch with the participating teams. Linares says “The teams love the idea of playing fastpitch in January, and also like the international flavor of the tournament.”
For Fastpitchwest’s coverage of past AAU tournaments, click the menu buttons at the top of the page, e.g. Tournaments/AAU/2004, etc. or the links below:
Teams interested in competing in the AAU International Tournament needs to plan in advance, as the field of teams fills up in September and October, with a waiting list of teams by November of the preceding year.
Tournament Director Alex Linares can be contacted at the AAU offices as follows:
Alex Linares
Amateur Athletic Union Of The United States, Inc.
Sports Manager
Panama & Puerto Rico Liaison
International Events
alex (at) aausports.org
407- 828-5602
407- 934 – 7242 (fax)
alex (at) aausports.org
www.aausports.org
Click here for map to ballpark.
Click here for satellite view.
(The fastpitch diamonds are located to the left of the “A” marker on satellite photo, 4 in wagon wheel configuration and two more to the right of those. The baseball field located just to the right of the “A” marker is the spring training home to MLB’s Atlanta Braves. Click link above for a close up view)
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